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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · chair · key · capital · vault · patient

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. key — the most important part
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. chair — a leader
  9. vault — a safe
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. key — for a lock
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — a city
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. capital — money
  18. patient — a sick person

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com